The value of looking good can not be underestimated. Careful clothing selection and good personal hygiene can help people not only to feel more confident about themselves, but can actually improve the way that others see and react to them.
Spa treatment for protection of the skin, nails, and hair is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury for many, and the commonality of spa treatments for both women and men is increasing dramatically. Pedicures, in particular, have recently grown in popularity to promote foot health as foot pain from improper care of feet is a well known, and potentially dangerous, concern. The experience of a pedicure also can be very relaxing, and the results are usually having cleaner, more attractive feet and toenails. Often, the main objective of having the pedicure is the cosmetic improvement of the toenails.
For most women (and some men), a pedicure is usually culminated by painting of the toenails. This can provide both personal enjoyment and can improve the appearance of the feet when wearing open toed shoes—which has become as often as possible for many women. Regardless of the aesthetic benefits, painted toenails can provide for both protection of the nails and an enhanced appearance to the feet, as well as complementing or accenting other clothing or personal decoration.
A pedicure, however, is generally not a quick or inexpensive procedure, particularly when professionally performed. Taking time off from other activities to have the procedure implemented, as well as paying a professional for the service, means that the recipient wants the benefits of the procedure to last for as long as possible and the most “professional look” obtainable. To insure that nail polish lasts as long as possible and has the best appearing presentation, it is often required not only that the user spend the time and money to have the pedicure performed professionally, but also to spend a fairly large amount of time after the procedure protecting the nails and the nail polish from any possibility of damage to obtain the best results.
Many pedicure recipients are extra cautious about their feet, and particularly their toenails, for hours after a pedicure to insure that the polish is completely dry before resuming normal activities to prevent any damage or imperfections in the polish. They will often walk very diligently, sometimes with a flatfooted or other uncomfortable gait, and will usually try to keep their distance from any tangible object that could contact their feet. Any contact of the feet to another object is potentially hazardous to the pedicure. If the individual is not extra cautious, any contact can result in polish damage such as, but not limited to, smearing or streaking or other unintended removal of a portion of the polish. Open-toed shoes may also expose the polish to particulate imperfections such as dust, which can become lodged in the polish, spoiling its surface properties. All of these inconveniences often times lead to a feeling of immobilization after one's toenails are painted.
This risk of damaging the pedicure is not eliminated by the wearing of traditional footwear, and, in fact, the wearing of traditional footwear will likely damage the pedicure. While footwear may protect the polish from direct interaction with outside concerns, outside contact with the footwear can cause the foot to shift in the shoe or the shoe to shift relative to the foot, causing interaction between the nails and the interior of the shoe, which can be just as damaging to the polish. This interaction can also be caused by the simple act of walking as the feet and toes will commonly move within footwear to provide for a comfortable stride. These are some of the reasons why people do not wear traditional footwear after a pedicure.
Damage to the toenail polish can come from a large number of sources, many of which a person has no control over. Feet can be impacted by dogs, cats, children, or other people who inadvertently kick, brush, or step on the toes. More commonly, polish can be damaged by walking into or scraping against objects or by walking where particulates are present such as sand, grass, or even carpet. Inclement weather conditions such as snow, rain, puddles, wind blown debris or the like can also present problems.
The number of possible concerns from damage to nail polish arises principally because many nail polishes take a significant amount of time to completely set, even if they are dry to the touch in a matter of minutes. Before it is fully cured, all polish risks damage. Further, even once the polish is dry on the upper surface, polish may still be scuffed, smeared or damaged from a light to heavy impact.
To insure that polish appears the best as possible, people will often plan to be as sedentary as possible after a pedicure in order to avoid damage to the toenails. While simply being sedentary is a fairly effective solution, most people in today's society are too busy to make time for “less movement” to allow nail polish to dry. This means that many people simply forgo the pedicure to save the time and the hassle of having to protect the nails. On those rare occasions when they actually do get a pedicure, many people forget to be as cautious as necessary during the post-pedicure period because they are not in the habit of doing so. This can lead to damage to the nails and frustration that they had the special occasion of the service, paid for a service, and took time out of their schedule to have the service rendered only to have the result damaged. As a result, many people decide to stop receiving pedicures as often as preferred, and in some cases, indefinitely.